McKinley vs. Cline: The race for West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District

(WTRF) – 7News is your local election headquarters. 

As you prepare to vote, we want to make sure you hear from the candidates on your ballot. 

This time, we spotlight the race for West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District. Incumbent Republican David McKinley is seeking a sixth term against Democrat Natalie Cline. 

Congressman McKinley said that while the country devotes resources to the fight against COVID-19, it also can’t forget about the other fight against opioids. 

So while we’re treating COVID with all the attention and medicine we can possibly throw at it, keeping socially distant, masks, hand sanitizers, people are still dying on drugs. If we have 350 that passed away, which is a shame, we have now 700 to 800 that have passed away from drug overdose, so we still have a problem in West Virginia.

Rep. David McKinley, (R) West Virginia 1st Congressional District

For Cline, seeing what the epidemic has done to the Mountain State was one of the reasons she ran for office. 

This generation, my son’s cohort, is becoming the biggest victim of the opioid epidemic, and in my opinion it’s just a failure of every level of our government in the country and it’s time we start taking care of those kids.

Natalie Cline, Democratic Candidate for West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District

Cline said healthcare is a top priority for her campaign, whether it’s Medicare for all or some other type of universal healthcare.

We’re the richest country on earth and we should be able to meet everyone’s basic human needs.

Natalie Cline, Democratic Candidate for West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District

Adding that she will fight for everyone to have care. 

What I want to do is make it you know part of my mission to make sure that nobody struggles to see a physician. Nobody struggles to pay their bills, so they’re not afraid to go to the doctor because they’re afraid to get that medial bill in the mail a month later, but I also want to make sure that they can actually see their doctor. We can also start improving our telehealth system.

Natalie Cline, Democratic Candidate for West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District

When asked what he would do if re-elected, Congressman McKinley said he will continue to work on legislation to lower prescription drug costs. 

That’s going to open up a whole opportunity for people to get more healthcare, be able to afford the medicine that they need to have that right now they’re rejecting because they can’t afford it. 

Rep. David McKinley, (R) West Virginia 1st Congressional District

He also committed to continue fighting for the fossil fuel industry. 

There’s a movement in Washington to do away with natural gas, to stop the fracking process and using natural gas. The same thing with coal. I think that’s a dangerous road to go down. It’s gonna put a lot of people out of work.

Rep. David McKinley, (R) West Virginia 1st Congressional District

Learn more about Congressman McKinley’s campaign by clicking here.

Learn more about Natalie Cline’s campaign by clicking here.

Election Day is November 3, so be sure to stay with 7News in the coming weeks as we continue to help you get to know local candidates.